Monday, May 18, 2015

Stan Kenton - The Endless Search for New Sounds [Neophonics]

“For most of this period, Stan Kenton stood out as Herman's greatest rival in creating an unabashedly progressive jazz big band. These two figures are often mentioned in the same breath—and, true, the similarities between the bandleaders are striking. Both were Swing Era veterans from middle America who came of age at the dawn of the Great Depression, and converted to modern jazz at the close of the war years. But these overlapping biographical facts are merely superficial; the contrasts are overwhelming. The affable Herman, genial and permissive, let his bands discover their own musical identity. The strong-willed Kenton, in contrast, forged an orchestra in his own image: as massive as his six-foot-and-a-half tall frame, as expansive as his personal aspirations, as varied as his moods. Herman had a knack for making modern jazz palatable for the mass market and would not hesitate to record trite novelty songs to capture the public's approval ("I think it's very important to reach that other audience, the larger audience," Herman once explained. "The guys in the band and I put in a good day's work over 300 days a year. We deserve a pay-off sometime").

Kenton … disdained such compromises (although he was not entirely above them), driven instead by a need to create important music, jazz music on a larger scale than anyone had envisioned before. Eventually he established his own corporation and record company, Creative World, to escape the commercial pressures of the music industry. While Herman's modernism drew inspiration from bebop, Kenton avoided the term with a vengeance. Instead, he continually invented new names for modern jazz. He delighted in describing it as "progressive jazz," or in featuring his 1950 band under the rubric of "Innovations in Modern Music," or the 1952 version as "New Concepts in Artistry in Rhythm." Eventually he coined his own word: Neophonic music, deriving from Greek roots meaning "new sounds." Not that Kenton was against bebop—he simply preferred to pretend that it did not exist. His brand of modern jazz was all that mattered.”

- Ted Gioia, The History of Jazz

Perhaps because it was not "officially" the Stan Kenton Orchestra, or because so much of the music was ephemeral, played the once and never heard again, the Neophonic has never made such a lasting impression on Kenton fans as many of Stan's bands.

- Michael Sparke, Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra!

Michael Sparke, the quintessential English gentleman and the source of all things Kenton, remarked in his seminal treatment on Stan Kenton and his music entitled Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra!: “A complete book could be written on the Neophonic alone.”

Little did I know how much truth there was in this statement until I stumbled over some unissued, recorded in performance music by Stan’s Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra and decided to do some research on the project.

The unissued music in question is from the January 4, 1965 and March 1, 1965 concerts by Stan’s Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra and it has since been commercially issued on two CD’s entitled New Horizons Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 [T2CD - 1120/1121]. You can locate order information via this link.

Thanks to a government paid “vacation” to Asia, I was out of the country when Stan’s Neophonic Orchestra Concerts 1-4 and Concerts 5-8, respectively were performed at The Music Center of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. There were no concerts in 1967 and by the time of the Orchestra’s closing season the following year, I was otherwise preoccupied with “getting my house in order” by beginning a career and starting a family.

To say that I knew virtually nothing about the orchestra other than than it existed would be an understatement.

But I’ve always been a great fan of Stan’s adventurous, musical spirit, so when an opportunity came about to sample more of the music by his Los Angeles Neophonic Jazz Orchestra, I plumped for copies of the self-produced CD’s featuring the then unissued music from the January 4, 1965 and March 1, 1965 concerts.

In 1966, Capitol had issued the Stan Kenton Conducts The Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra LP while the concerts were ongoing [it was nominated for a Grammy] and then reissued it in 1998 as a CD [Capitol Jazz CDP 7243 4 94502 2 6]. For whatever reasons, both had very limited runs and I was fortunate enough to snag a copy of the commercial CD before it went out-of-print.

Rumors had persisted for years that additional music from the Neophonic concerts existed and that the source for it was a sound engineer who worked at The Music Center of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and who had surreptitiously recorded all of the January and March, 1965 performances.

The individual who was offering the bootlegged, Kenton Neophonic CD’s via an internet chat group that was dedicated to Stan and his music provided no information as to its provenance, but he did reassure potential buyers that the sound quality of the music was excellent, which, thankfully, it turned out to be as the entire transaction struck me as the ultimate in caveat emptor.

When the 4 CD’s arrived they proved to be worth every penny as now in addition to the tracks on the commercial Capitol CD featuring extended works by Hugo Montenegro, John Williams, Allyn Ferguson, Jim Knight, Russ Garcia and Clare Fischer, I also was able to listen to orchestral pieces written for the Neophonic by Pete Rugolo, Bill Holman, Lalo Schifrin, Johnny Richards, Marty Paich, Dee Barton, Shorty Rogers, Ralph Carmichael, Nelson Riddle, and Oliver Nelson.

Noel Wedder’s masterfully written insert notes to the Capitol LP/CD Stan Kenton Conducts The Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra and the excerpts from Michael’s Sparke’s Stan Kenton: This Is An Orchestra! [University of North Texas Press]that follow it will provide you with experts insights into the Stan Kenton’s Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra project which has to rank, in a career that spanned over four decades, as one of “The Old Man’s” more ambitious forays into Jazz performed in larger formats.

By way of background, Noel worked for Stan in a public relations and media distribution capacity in the 1960s and 70s while Kenton was still recording for Capitol Records and later when Stan formed his own record company - The Creative World of Stan Kenton.

In addition to his historical narrative, Michael Sparke has written liner notes for several Kenton CD’s and collaborated with the Dutch discographer Peter Venudor to produce two works: Kenton on Capitol and Stan Kenton: The Studio Sessions.

You can also locate a great deal of anecdotal information including excerpts from interviews with musician who played in the Neophonic Orchestra and Jazz magazine and newspaper reviews of the concerts in Chapter 10 - Neophonic Impressions of Steven D. Harris, The Kenton Kronicles. And more of the Kenton Neophonic music is available in versions by other orchestras such as the Collegiate Neophonic Orchestra [Part B, Disc 2 of Horns of Plenty V. 1] and the University of North Texas Neophonic [Part B, Disc 2 of Horns of Plenty V. 2]. These discs are also available through the previously cited Tantara Production link.

“On January 4th, 1965, another historic milestone was reached in contemporary music.

For on that landmark evening the Los Angeles Neophonic Orchestra, the world's only permanent resident orchestra devoted to contemporary music, gave the first of 11 concerts in The Pavilion of The Los Angeles Music Center.

Significantly for contemporary music, another opportunity for innovative expression had arrived. In a dazzling blend of imaginative writing and superb musicianship the Neophonic Orchestra presented dramatic evidence that it was quite capable of offering the listener a unique musical experience.

For those who had followed Stan Kenton's eclectic career the announcement that he had been invited to premiere the Neophonic Orchestra at Los Angeles' multi-million dollar Music Center came as one more victory over the many slights contemporary music had been subjected to over the years.

Who can forget the Carnegie Hall concert of 1948!

Kenton was permitted to perform in that venerable concert hall with the stipulation he go on at midnight. Carnegie Hall's management insisted their conservative, classically-oriented music patrons would be offended if a 'jazz concert' (especially one by Stan Kenton) was scheduled at the more traditional curtain time of 8:00 PM. Imagine their surprise when every seat in the house, including 300 folding chairs placed upon the stage, were sold-out in 12-hours!

Seventeen years later that same type enthusiastic support for any new musical direction Kenton might take was still very much in evidence. The 11 Neophonic concerts performed in 1965, 1966 and 1968 proved conclusively that audiences would support a new musical concept which challenged them when given the opportunity. A music that was compelling, inventive and very definitely on the cutting edge.

These six compositions, selected from the more than 35 original compositions which received their world premieres during those three triumphal seasons, underscore the stunning harmonies, explosive rhythms and impeccable solo work which became a hallmark of the Neophonic Orchestra.

For those who questioned why Kenton felt the need to radically alter his Orchestra’s musical architecture by forming the Neophonic Orchestra, the reason was simple. He felt contemporary music, and jazz in particular had metamorphisized itself through so many different styles, permutations and instrumentations, that the term 'jazz' was less meaningful. Jazz had become such a catch-all phrase for all types of contemporary music; from ballads to blues; Kenton's own 'progressive jazz’ to Bop, that any attempt to build upon traditional forms was not only restrictive, but impossible.

Interestingly, this was not the first time Stan Kenton had elected to reshape his library and instrumentation and move the Orchestra in an entirely different direction. 1950, without a doubt, will long be remembered in music circles as the year he impressed audiences and critics with his 40-piece ‘Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra.’

Structured along the lines of a miniature symphony -- woodwinds, violins, cellos and a megatherium timpani section augmented his primary 19-piece orchestra - 'Innovations' was acclaimed as being the first positive attempt to begin smoothing over the gap that had long existed between jazz and classical music.

Although the 'Innovations' Orchestra enjoyed an unprecedented success, the melding together of the two forms was short-lived. For some, it as neither jazz, nor classical, but an exploitation of one while demanding the rigorous disciplines of the other. After weathering two short, but lively seasons marked by a storm of critical controversy, tempered by rave reviews from his audiences, 'Innovations' ceased to function as an interpreter of contemporary music.

And so the search continued.

In New York, Gunther Schuller, John Lewis and George Russell began experimenting with “Third Stream’ music, which although a throwback to the classical tradition was yet another meaningful attempt to combine two precise forms into one in an effort to expand upon them.

Simultaneously in Los Angeles Kenton went through a trial and error period of instrumentation in which he added five E-flat trumpets to the Orchestra's already muscular 10-man brass section. When that fell short of providing the contrasting tonal patterns he wanted, he changed the five E-flat trumpets to five German fluegelhorns. When that, too, left a void he discovered almost by accident that a brace of four Conn mellophoniums (alto brass horns keyed in F) very precisely captured the elusive color range between the trumpets and trombones he had been seeking for so long.

Kenton toured for three years with the 'Mellophonium Orchestra’ and played to capacity houses both here and on the continent. Thanks in large part to Kenton's own deft touch and notable contributions from Bill Holman, Ralph Carmichael, Johnny Richards, Gene Roland, Dee Barton and Lennie Niehaus the library featured some of the most driving and melodic writing ever conceived.

But, like all creative pathfinders, the time had once again arrived for him to elevate his music into yet another dimension.

Just before leaving for England in the winter of 1963, Kenton decided he would remain in Los Angeles for 18-months so he could form an altogether different orchestra. One which could be permanently located in Los Angeles and would utilize many of the people who, from 1941 to present day, had graduated from the band and were playing, composing and arranging for the television and film industries.

This recording is a tribute to not only Stan Kenton's vision, but to everyone who helped make the Neophonic Orchestra a reality and skillfully shaped it into one of the most daring and successful ventures ever undertaken by a performer.

Don't be surprised when the Neophonic's clarion trumpet calls, robust trombone passages and soaring saxophone runs begin swirling about you that you, too, sense the same exhilaration these musicians experienced on their way to January 4, 1965; a most historic date for music. And for you…..”

“For much of 1964 Kenton was turned off from music altogether, in what may have seemed like over-reaction to a mere two weeks' poor reception overseas, but which Stan explained in a long letter to Joe Coccia dated September 7, 1964. This is just a short extract: "I haven't been any place other than at home with the children, they need me so much to be with them. I've been through a period of adjustment, from wanting to give up music for something else, or retiring completely on a low budget. I've had terrible depressions and hardly any creative drive. I'm delighted to tell you, however, that I'm about to come out of it, and I realize I've had these dry periods before, but that doesn't seem to make it any less painful while they're taking place."

[Bassist] John Worster also explains how Stan's psyche could easily put things out of perspective: "Stan Kenton is a man who is immense in everything he does. When he trips, he doesn't just stumble, he falls flat on his face. Everything he does is done exaggerated, and all his emotions are exaggerated. When he's happy, he is happy, you and I aren't ever that happy! And you and I are never as sad as he is. He's a very emotional, exaggerated person, and if you hurt him you hurt him deeply, or you don't scratch the surface at all. If you get through to him, you get through to him, and he'll never forget it. If you do him a wrong he'll never forget it; and if you really please him he'll never forget that either."1

Most bandleaders (think Glenn Miller, Les Brown, Count Basie) found their niche and stuck with it. Often buffeted by market forces, Kenton was never quite sure whether his was a dance band, a jazz band, or a semi-symphonic concert orchestra. The latter was his preference, but audiences for such music were thin on the ground, and even in the "good old days" had been too few to support a national tour. So since he was confined to LA anyway by his children, in conjunction with his new managers George Greif and Sid Garris, Stan conceived a plan to front a resident concert orchestra of the finest Hollywood-based musicians, playing only avant-garde music, and limited to around four concerts a year.

The prospect was enough to shake Stan out of his doldrums, and restore his creative drive. He started writing for an instrumentation similar to the "New Era" orchestra, but with five French horns replacing the unpredictable mellophoniums …..

[Michael goes on to explain that a precursor to the Neophonic was a recording that Stan’s made for Capitol Records of the music of Richard Wagner].

“The Neophonic movement would receive scant backing from Capitol Records. The Wagner album has never been reissued on CD, and in 1998 the CD of the Neophonic Orchestra itself was in and out of the Capitol catalog so fast, if you blinked, you missed it!

Stan cast his net wide, and solicited scores from composers in all schools of jazz. Most wrote in the Kenton idiom, despite his name not being directly attached to the orchestra, which he insisted should be called the Los Angeles Neophonic, a coined word meaning New Sounds. But Stan paid the bills. Only the writers contributed their charts for free, glad of the opportunity to hear their most ambitious works played before an appreciative audience. But the AFM insisted the musicians be paid full Union rates, copyist Clinton Roemer could not afford to work for nothing, and the prestigious Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles imposing Music Center did not come cheap. (It almost didn't come at all, because Mrs. Chandler had stipulated the hall should feature only classical music. It was only after much persuasion the Center's committee relented, and then Kenton was relegated to Monday nights, when the hall was normally "dark.”)

Such were the costs, it was later calculated that even if there'd been full houses

at every concert (which was far from the case), it would have been difficult for the Neophonic to turn a profit. Not that such considerations would have even entered Kenton's head as he prepared for the premiere concert of the 1965 season. His only concern was to prove once and for all that there was a place in American society for an art form that raised jazz music to the same level as that of the renowned European classical composers of earlier times. Whether or not he succeeded artistically, commercially the venture was soon in deep trouble.

Accurately described as a "Non-Profit Organization," the Neophonic was never financially successful. Even before the echoes of the opening concert had died away, Variety was reporting the orchestra to be in "financial troubles," and this final attempt by Kenton to present a new American art music proved as doomed as his previous endeavors. Despite inflated attendance figures released to the press, rarely were more than 2,000 seats of the 3,250-capacity Pavilion filled by paying ticket-holders, a pathetic number in relation to the population of metropolitan LA and its environs.

The Neophonic stumbled on through three seasons, performing a total of just 11 concerts:

1965—concerts 1-4

1966—concerts 5-8

1967—no concerts

1968—concerts 9-11

Rehearsal time was at a premium, because all had to be paid for. The first anyone saw of the scores was immediately prior to their performance, so an evaluation had to be made on the spot. As Kenton said, "Even though they were all important composers with good reputations, you never knew what the quality of the writing would be like. Some wrote very bad music, and some of them wrote great music.” Obviously, the musicians had to be skilled sight-readers, and manager Jim Amlotte signed up the best available, men like Conte Candoli, Milt Bernhart, Bud Shank, and Shelly Manne, who were conversant with the Kenton style. But the difficulties inherent in even assembling around 26 top studio musicians at a time that didn't clash with their regular assignments are readily

apparent.

Perhaps because it was not "officially" the Stan Kenton Orchestra, or because so much of the music was ephemeral, played the once and never heard again, the Neophonic has never made such a lasting impression on Kenton fans as many of Stan's bands. As Bud Shank put it, "We saw the music for the first time in the morning, rehearsed it and played it at the concert that night, and it was gone, finished with."

Nevertheless, a representative number, though by no means a majority, of the most important compositions did get onto records, albeit often played by college bands or the composer's own recordings, as well as the single LP reluctantly put out by Capitol. The Music Center recorded everything played there, but reportedly most tapes were destroyed in 2001, though two concerts (numbers 1 and 3 from the 1965 season) were "rescued by a sound engineer," and subsequently saw several CD releases, most notably on Tantara's two-volume New Horizons….

Milt Bernhart [a trombonist with a long association with Kenton] resigned right after that first concert: "After that first night I said, 'Stan, I can't do this any more, it’s impossible.’ That first concert was a nightmare. Stan didn't think so, he was having a great time! But composers like Marty Paich, Bill Holman, and Lalo Schifrin, everyone, wrote as much as they could possibly write, and there wasn't the money to pay for more than something like a three-hour rehearsal beforehand, so we were really sight-reading everything, and it was miracle-time.

Then when the curtain went up I saw all the royal family of music in the front three rows — Ella Fitzgerald, Norman Granz, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, George Shearing — and I thought to myself, 'I can think of better ways to get in big trouble!' Even Stan lost his place while he was conducting his own orchestration, so he looked up at Shelly and whispered, 'Where are we?' And Shelly looked surprised and said, 'Are you crazy Stan? We're at the Music Center!' It was the trial of the century!"

But John Worster remembered the whole endeavor very differently, and offers the best description I have seen from his first-hand experience: "I made 15 albums with the Kenton association, but the best music I've ever played, or possibly ever will play, was the Neophonic album. Those concerts weren't just another gig to anyone; all the musicians took it very seriously. They treated the music with respect, and after rehearsals nobody was running to leave, everyone was looking over parts and checking phrasings and asking questions. I've never been part of a more healthy attitude in regard to anything. I remember Shelly coming in an hour early to talk over tempos with Stan. And Bill Perkins sent his check back to the organizers. He didn't want the money, he was doing it because he believed in what it was — a clearinghouse for original, new, needed music. And Stan of course held it all together. This was his dream come true.

Suicide Mission; Noble Experiment; Quest for the Grail?

Perhaps, a little of all three.

But after spending some time listening to the music of The Los Angeles Neophonic Jazz Orchestra, I had the impression that is was just another chapter of Stan being Stan; The Old Man reaching out and trying new and different things for the sake of trying to find other avenues of Jazz expression.

See what you think after listening to Jim Knight’s Music for an Unwritten Play as played from the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as performed on March 1, 1965.

The editorial staff at JazzProfiles thought that remembering the music of Stan’s Neophonic on these pages might be a nice way to celebrate its 50th anniversary.Terry Vosbein, a musician, composer and authority on Stan's music wrote very informative notes to the New Horizons commercial CD's of the January 4 and March 1, 1965 performances. Terry has kindly allowed their access via this link.

Phil Woods 5tet Feat. Tom Harrell - "Azure"

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Bassist Chuck Israels on alto saxophonist Phil Woods

Quincy Jones had a band that was preparing to tour Europe in the summer of 1959. The band was rehearsing in the mezzanine of the Olympia Theatre and I somehow wrangled an invitation to attend a rehearsal. It was a great hand with some of Quincy's friends from Seattle, like Buddy Catlett and Patti Brown. Les Spann was the guitarist and played some flute solos. Sahib Shihab was in the saxophone section and Joe Harris played drums. I listened to a number of pieces in which there were solos played by various members of the band. It would be unfair to say that those solos were perfunctory, but later, when Phil Woods stood up from the lead alto chair to play his solo feature, the atmosphere changed. Phil played as if there were no tomorrow. The contrast was striking and I have always remembered the impression it left. If you practice rehearsing, then when the lime comes to perform, you are ready to rehearse. Phil practiced performing.

Legendary 1980 Weckl-Gadd-Colaiuta DRUM SHOWDOWN

Larry Bunker's Advice to a Young Drum Student

"Be yourself, keep good time, play musically and don't show off your "chops" [technique]. The only people who can appreciate them are other drummers, and nobody likes them anyway."

JazzProfiles Readers Forum

You have done a great service by reproducing this article. Gene really created a great portrait of Miller, especially with his new (for the time) interviews.

I was a great admirer of Gene's writing, and can say we were friends. If you like, I can send you a link to a memorial article I wrote for Doug Ramsey's blog Rifftides that I wrote after Gene died. He could be quite frustrating at times, but I learned a lot from him, and he definitely helped me to become a better writer.

Hi. I have been visiting his blog for a few months almost daily and I have to thank him for his work, contributing interesting articles about music and Jazz musicians which is helping me discover new things, to value others that I did not appreciate at the time and to recover some that I enjoyed. and I have forgotten. -Greetings and many thanks from Toledo Spain.

Great write up of one helluva release by Bill Lichtenauer of Tantara Productions. Magnificent list, great technology, and fantastic Kenton sounds. Thanks Steve...and thanks, Bill. And the liner notes were done superbly by Michael Sparke of the UK. Tony Agostinelli

Thanks Steven for making this available to a wider readership. This book was like a "bible" to me when I first started collecting aged 16. I still have my original copy ... complete with marginalia as I filled in my collection. I had to wait until I moved to London in 1958 to acquire many of these albums on the British labels like Esquire .... this brings back so many pleasant memories, but it also reminds me that time does proceed, relentlessly.

Garth.

This book was like a "bible" to me when I was a serious collector, aged 16 .... I still have my original copy, in excellent condition after all these years, over three continents complete with marginalia as I built my collection. Bravo to you Steve for making these early observations available for others to read. Raymond Horricks followed this book up with "These Jazzmen Of Our Time" (Gollancz, 1959), which contained some great early portraits by Herman Leonard.

I met him twice. He was playing at a mall with the Westchester jazz band. That was around 97 or so. They were taking a break and I started talking to him. He was super nice. I mention my grandfather was a jazz trumpet player Bunny Berigan. I did not know who Bill was but like the way he played bass that day. I ran across his book on jazz in the white plains library. I was surprise at knowledge and who he played with in jazz. I seen him again at the same place a year later and got to talk to him.Very nice again to me. I asked him about Zoot Sims. And about Benny Goodman which he your with in Russian . My grandfather played with Benny too at one time. Seems they both found him hard to deal with. What a fine man Bill is.

I discovered Oliver Nelson in 1977 and could not believe my ears. At the time it was obviously a vinyl record and belonged to somebody else. However, thanks to the technology of today I can listen to my cd of Blues and the Abstract Truth to my heart's content. You have told me so much more about this wonderful man's unique style. If I want to feel good, I just listen to Stolen Moments. Thank you.

I have been listening to 1 of greatest piece of orchestration of Stan Kenton style music I've ever listened too arranged by a young trumpet player & arranger Bill Mathieu it's Kenton it Mathieu but mostly a great music . the complexed overlays , blending , fitting in soloists at just the right moment , plus the swelling of the whole orchestra to create the Kenton sound without losing his own indemnity is outstanding . Thank Bill Thank you Stan ... Jim Shelton

Peter Haslund has left a new comment on your post "Mark Murphy: 1932-2015, R.I.P.":

Just discovered Mr. Murphy. Gotta say it leaves me speechless that I listened to jazz since the 80s and never once heard his name. All the stuff that sounded so contrived with Sinatra (who obviously knew he was really singing black people's music) is fresh and free with Mark. RIP.

Hi Steven,

I read with interest your recent piece about the Boss Brass. I live in Toronto, and when it comes to the Canadian jazz scene, it's hard to overstate how influential this band was. Besides the quality of McConnell's arrangements, the musicians were all top-name guys in the city (many with vigorous solo careers). What has always floored me about their playing is the tightness and especially intonation in the woodwinds -- the skill of the horn players at playing doubles (flutes and clarinets) is legendary.

I feel fortunate to have been able to hear them live, on a number of occasions. From the stories I've heard, either third-hand or right from former Boss Brass members, Rob was a really hard guy to work with, but certainly pushed his group toward excellence.

I also liked your recent piece on Pat Martino. I'm a big fan of his style. If you haven't read his autobiography, I highly recommend it! His personal story is, of course, fascinating and inspiring.

Speaking of guitarists, someone you may want to profile someday is the Canadian jazz guitarist Ed Bickert. He was the guitarist for the Boss Brass for many decades. He is now quite elderly and no longer playing, but is another of those guys who was phenomenally influential, though I think he largely flew under-the-radar south of the border.

Thanks for putting together such a great site, and best wishes.

Jordan Wosnick

You can share your thoughts, observations and general remarks in the Readers Forum by contacting JazzProfiles via scerra@roadrunner.com

Hi Steve...I'm not a Facebook or Twitter guy so here's hoping this email reaches you...

You indicated that you were not aware of published Mulligan biographies in your recent post on Gerry and I wanted to bring one to your attention that I think you will like:

JERU'S JOURNEY by Sanford Josephson. It was published in 2015 by Hal Leonard Books. It's part of the Hal Leonard Biography Series which also includes bios of Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Mann & Billy Eckstine.

I own the Adderley and Mann bios and also recommend them.

Jeru's Journey is an easy read and covers Mulligan's life from birth to his passing. It is a very good overview and the author--who knew Mulligan and interviewed him before his passing--tells Gerry's story completely including Mulligan's drug addiction, domestic (wives) issues, etc. along with good musical analysis and insights both of the author's and other musicians. In addition to a good discography there are many photographs.

The list price is $19.99. A good buy.

In closing, I would like to tell you how much I have enjoyed your blog over the years. I have recommended it to many musician friends and all have thanked me. Thanks again for helping to keep the jazz alive...

Bruce Armstrong

You can share your thoughts, observations and general remarks in the Readers Forum by contacting JazzProfiles via scerra@roadrunner.com

Les Koenig was clearly a GIANT despite his obvious preference to be low-key, himself. THANK YOU, Steven Cerra!!! The world is a better place because of people like Les! Like Laurie(Pepper) & the list goes on & on forever! Like YOU, Steven! Thanks to ALL who work behind the scenes, on or off-stage, etc. etc. etc... -in support of the featured "Player" & "Sidemen" so that "We the people..." can be out in the audience having the time of our lives enjoying "the show" or "Artistry, Talent, Efforts" and so on! My attitude is one of gratitude!! THIS art form & ALL original American Art forms must be preserved and encouraged to not only survive, but to thrive!!!

Diz

"Jazz is a gift. If you can hear it, you can have it."

Piano Players: Dick Katz on Erroll Garner

“Unique is an inadequate word to describe Erroll Garner. He was a musical phenomenon unlike any other. One of the most appealing performers in Jazz history, he influenced almost every pianist who played in his era, and even beyond. Self-taught, he could not read music, yet he did things that trained pianists could not play or even imagine. Garner was a one-man swing band, and indeed often acknowledged that his main inspiration was the big bands of the thirties – Duke, Basie, Lunceford, et al. He developed a self-sufficient, extremely full style that was characterized by a rock-steady left-hand that also sounded like a strumming rhythm guitar. Juxtaposed against this was a river of chordal or single note ideas, frequently stated in a lagging, behind-the-beat way that generated terrific swing.” [

Paul Desmond

Cannonball Adderley, who was at one point a rival of Paul's in the various polls and whose robust gospel-drenched playing was worlds apart once said: ‘He is a profoundly beautiful player.’ Writer Nat Hentoff said. "He could put you in a trance, catch you in memory and desire, make you forget the garlic and sapphires in the mud."

Drummers Corner: Larry Bunker on Shelly Manne

“In a truly formal sense, Shelly could barely play the drums. If you gave him a pair of sticks and a snare drum and had him play rudi­ments—an open and closed roll, paradiddles, and all that kind of thing—he didn't sound like much. He never had that kind of training and wasn't inter­ested in it. For him it was a matter of playing the drums with the music. He could play more music in four bars than almost anyone else. His drums sounded gorgeous. They recorded sensationally. All you had to hear was three or four bars and you knew it was Shelly Manne. - Larry Bunker, Jazz drummer and premier, studio percussionist

The 1954 Birdland Recordings of Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers

The 1954 Birdland recordings on Blue Note provided the stylistic foundation for the rest of Art Blakey's career. His style had completely crystallized. His pulsation was undeniable, a natural force; the counter-rhythms he brought to the mix made what he played that much more affecting. There was a purity about what he did—and always motion. He was spontaneous, free, creating every minute. That he was in the company of peers, all performing in an admirable manner, had a lot to do with making this "on-the-spot" session such an important musical document. The band never stops burning. The exhilarating Clifford Brown moves undaunted through material, fast, slow, in between, playing fantastic, well-phrased ideas that unfold in an unbroken stream. His technique, almost perfect; his sound, burnished. He's a gift to the senses. Lou Donaldson, an underrated alto player in the Bird tradition, offers much to think about while you're tapping your foot. Horace Silver is crucial to the effect of this music, much of it his own. Certainly the rhythms that inform his piano playing and writing make it all the more soulful. On this and other records he serves as a catalytic agent, provoking swing and engaging intensity. Hard-hitting, unpretentious, communicative, Silver has little use for compositional elements or piano techniques that impede his message. A live-in pulse permeates his music and his playing, strongly affecting the shape, content, and level of excitement of his performances and those of his colleagues. An original and tellingly economic amalgam of Parker, the blues, shuffling dance rhythms, and a taste of the black church for flavor, Silver is quite undeniable. Listen to his delightful "Quicksilver" on A Night at Birdland With the Art Blakey Quintet, Vol. 1 (Blue Note). It capsulizes what he does. On this album, Curly Russell shows once again he can play "up" tempos and interesting changes. He ties in well with Blakey. But Silver and Blakey, in combination, determine the rhythmic disposition of the music. Blakey's natural time and fire raise the heat to an explosive level before the listener realizes how hot the fire has become. Perhaps more than other recordings Blakey has made, the Birdland session documents his great strengths and technical failings. At almost every turn, he shows what an enviably well coordinated, buoyantly confident, rhythmically discerning player he is.

BOP AND DRUMS—A NEW WORLD

From the Introduction to Burt Korall, “Drummin’ Men: The Bebop Years”

“It is difficult for young musicians and jazz devotees to fully comprehend the tumultuous effect that the advent of bop had on drummers. The new music demanded new, relevant, trigger-fast, musical, well-placed reactions from the person behind the drum set—an entirely revamped view of time and rhythm, techniques, and musical attitudes.

How well did drummers deal with bop? The innovators, like Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, opened the path and showed how it was done. Young disciples—if they had talent, sensitivity, and the necessary instincts— caught on and made contributions. Other drummers stylistically modified the way they played, trying to combine the old with the new. This was tricky at best. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it was a matter of apples and oranges. Still others fought change and what it implied.

Not welcomed by many swing drummers and their more traditional predecessors, the new wave was looked upon as the enemy, sources of disruption and unnecessary noise. Those stuck in the past could not accept breaking time, using the drum set as both color resource and time center. The structural and emotional differences essential to bebop, the need for virtuosity, and the ability to think quickly and perform appropriately intimidated them. The demands of the music were strange and often devastating; a feeling of hostility built up in them. The basic reasons were quite clear. The new music could ultimately challenge their earning ability and position in the drum hierarchy."

Gerry Mulligan 1927-1996

“… Gerry Mulligan lived through almost the entire history of jazz. It is against that background that he should be understood.” – Gene Lees

Gunther Schuller on Sonny Rollins

“Rhythmically, Rollins is as imaginative and strong as in his melodic concepts. And why not? The two are really inseparable, or at least should be. In his recordings as well as during several evenings at Birdland recently [Fall/1958] Rollins indicated that he can probably take any rhythmic formation and make it swing. This ability enables him to run the gamut of extremes— from almost a whole chorus of non-syncopated quarter notes (which in other hands might be just naive and square but through Rollins' sense of humor and superb timing are transformed into a swinging line) to asymmetrical groupings of fives and sevens or between the-beat rhythms that defy notation. As for his imagination, it is prodigiously fertile. And indeed I can think of no better and more irrefutable proof of the fact that discipline and thought do not necessarily result in cold or un-swinging music than a typical Rollins performance. No one swings more (hard or gentle) and is more passionate in his musical expression than Sonny Rollins . It ultimately boils down to how much talent an artist has; the greater the demands of his art both emotionally and intellectually the greater the talent necessary.”

Artie Shaw on Louis Armstrong as told to Gene Lees

Artie said, "You are too young to know the impact Louis had in the 1920s," he said. "By the time you were old enough to appreciate Louis, you had been hearing those who derived from him. You cannot imagine how radical he was to all of us. Revolutionary. He defined not only how you play a trumpet solo but how you play a solo on any instrument. Had Louis Armstrong never lived, I suppose there would be a jazz, but it would be very different."

Pops

Bill Crow on Louis Amstrong

Louis Armstrong transformed jazz. He played with a strength and inventiveness that illuminated every jazz musician that heard his music. Louis was able to do things on the trumpet that had previously been considered impossible. His tone and range and phrasing became criteria by which other jazz musicians measured themselves. He established the basic vocabulary of jazz phrases, and his work became the foundation of every jazz musician who followed him.

Bassist Eddie Gomez on Pianist Bill Evans

“Bill's music is profoundly expressive. It is passionate, intellectual, and without pretense. Eleven years with his trio afforded me the opportunity to perform, record, travel, and most importantly learn. My development as an artist is largely due to his encouragement, support, and patience. He instilled confidence in me, while at the same time urging me to search for my own voice and for new ways to make the music vital and creative. And Bill believed that repertoire, both new and old, would organically flourish in repeated live performance. In fact, there were precious few rehearsals, even before recording sessions. … When Bill passed away late in 1980, it was clear that all of us in the jazz world had sustained a huge loss. I was shocked and saddened; in my heart I had always felt that some day there would be a reunion concert. Had I been able to look into a crystal ball and foresee his death, perhaps I might have stayed in the trio for a longer period. I still dream about one more set with Bill. He closes his eyes, turns his head to one side, and every heartfelt note seems etched and bathed in gold. How I miss that sound.”

John Coltrane on Stan Getz

Coltrane himself said of the mellifluous Stan Getz, "Let's face it--we'd all sound like that if we could."

Peter Bernstein on Bobby Hutcherson

I got to play with Bobby Hutcherson at Dizzy's a few years ago, which ended up on a CD [2012's Somewhere In The Night on Kind of Blue Records]. I was four feet away from him, thinking, "How is this man just hitting metal bars with wooden sticks with cotton on the end and making such an expressive statement?" The instrument is just like ... it's him! He's imbuing it with his thoughts and feelings. That's a miraculous thing. The instrument itself disappears when you're talking about a master on that level.

Ralph Bowen

“In a way, the entire act of music is mind put into sound. It has to go through some sort of physical medium in order to be heard. I chose the saxophone, but the whole issue is to have such control over the instrument and over what you hear that the instrument physically doesn't get in the way of visualizing sound. Technique to me means dealing with an instrument in the most efficient manner possible so that it's no more than peripheral to expression."